By Mike Bes
Flush from its success on the professional golf tours with the mighty M1, TaylorMade has turned its vast resources on employing the composite technology to make more accessible golf clubs for amateurs. The result of that design brief, is the M2 line. Succeeding the Aeroburner line, the M2 was built with the same design brief but adds composite technology to its list of party tricks. The weight savings from the carbon crown driver has enabled engineers to move the CG into a position of simultaneous speed and forgiveness.
Similar to the composition of M1, the use of TaylorMade’s carbon composite crown design in the M2 driver has resulted in a significant decrease in overall crown weight and with that, engineers have been able to lower the CG considerably. The total weight savings of 5g creates a dream scenario for our engineers, giving them enough discretionary weight savings to generate a remarkably hot trajectory with maximized forgiveness. Whereas the savings in weight in the M1 was used to develop the company’s revolutionary T-Track System, the combination of the carbon crown with titanium casting technology in the M2 driver has enabled engineers to move the CG into a position of simultaneous speed and forgiveness.
With forgiveness a priority in M2, TaylorMade engineers focused on three key performance features that deliver ball speed protection on shots struck away from center-face: inverted cone technology (ICT), a redesigned Speed Pocket; and increased moment of inertia (MOI).
The M2 driver utilizes ICT to increase the size of the high-COR area of the clubface. ICT utilizes a thinner clubface, which would be above the legal limit for COR at the center if it were uniform thickness. However, the inverted-cone feature is then added to the center of the clubface to bring that section back down to the legal range, while the higher COR remains out on the heel and toe areas of the face.
M2 also features a redesigned Speed Pocket. It allows for greater face flexion than with a traditional, more rigid connection. More flexibility means greater energy transfer at impact made low on the face and thus, more protection of ball speed.
Last, the center of gravity in the M2 driver has been positioned low and slightly further back in the clubhead. In M2, the MOI are among the highest of any club we’ve ever produced. The increased MOI resists twisting at impact, resulting in farther and straighter shots when struck off-center.
The 12 position loft sleeve of the M2 driver provides up to 4 degrees of loft adjustment. TaylorMade will offer upward of 30 additional premium custom-shaft options at no upcharge.
The resulting driver is the friendliest in the TM line. The fairway metals and Rescue benefit similarly to the driver and employ the same recipe to increase forgiveness and playability. A M2 iron rounds out the product line and adds a proprietary fluted hosel 360° undercut, ICT, a new 3D badge and the company’s patented Speed Pocket technology to make this TaylorMade’s most forgiving distance iron ever.
TaylorMade also announced the M2 Limited iron, a distance iron designed with a more compact shape intended for the more accomplished player. Featuring many of the same technologies as the M2 iron, M2 Limited will appeal to a variety of player types seeking distance benefits and rounds the M2 lineup nicely.
In creating the M2 irons, engineers employed many innovative features, including a new, proprietary fluted hosel, 360° undercut, Inverted Cone Technology (ICT), a new 3D badge and the company’s patented Speed Pocket technology.
A significant amount of mass is trapped in the hosel of all irons. To position the center of gravity low in the M2 iron, TaylorMade’s engineers utilized a new fluted hosel design to remove discretionary mass from the hosel, redistributing it lower and further back in the clubhead. The M2 iron also features an advanced topline construction a 360° undercut that functions to increase the unsupported face area while saving weight to lower the CG, creating a canvas that lends itself to a unique combination of high ball speed, optimized launch angle and spin rate which yields exceptional distance and high peak trajectory. This technology has resulted in an iron that outdistances the competition while maintaining a higher peak trajectory than other products.
While the fluted hosel and 360° undercut are the pathways to distance, speed and higher ball flight are achieved through the incorporation of a newly designed Speed Pocket and a thin face with ICT. First found in the RocketBladez irons in 2012, the Speed Pocket is one of TaylorMade’s most revolutionary technologies, engineered to increase launch angle and ball speed while providing added forgiveness for shots struck low on the face.
M2 irons employ a 3D badge to manage sound and feel—a considerable challenge in an iron that produces this much ball speed—that features multimaterial V-shaped struts to improve sound qualities and dampen unwanted vibrations. To accomplish this, the badge was designed to be extremely stiff without inhibiting ball speed, a balancing act that our engineers were able to execute flawlessly.
Together, these product innovations work to push the limits of distance performance in an iron to successfully deliver golfers tremendous distance and high peak trajectory in a product that has the potential to change the landscape of distance irons as we know it.
In addition to M2, TaylorMade also announced the M2 Limited iron, a distance iron designed with a more compact shape geared for players looking for distance with added workability. Featuring many of the same technologies as the M2 iron, M2 Limited toes the line between a distance iron and a players iron, and does so with performance and design that will appeal to a variety of player types seeking distance benefits. With M2 Limited, distance was certainly a priority, but not the only one. Size, shape, offset, topline thickness, sole width, sound and feel were all scrutinized, ensuring an ideal blend of distance and playability in a more compact package. The M2 Limited is sure to become a favorite of many golfers that have wanted to enjoy the performance of a game-improvement distance iron but with the look and workability of a players iron.
The M2 family of golf clubs will be available at all Pacsports outlets. Watch this space for a full review soon.